


Plan B

by Hezaia



Series: Natsume Yuujinchou AU [3]
Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-18 10:23:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19332634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hezaia/pseuds/Hezaia
Summary: Taki and Tanuma get delayed, Madara goes with his plan B, the Days Eater proves surprisingly elusive, and Natori, Natori thinks people ought to mind their own business.AU – Canon Divergence on chapter 78, wherein misunderstandings happen.





	Plan B

**-o0o-**

When Natori had been abruptly awoken from an afternoon nap to someone abusing his doorbell, he had expected a lot of things. It was safe to say that this was not one of them.

“This is−?”

“Only temporary, but still troublesome,” the youkai scoffed, and turned on its heel – It was Natsume’s ‘bodyguard’, but not in its usual round form or in its larger, more regal form but rather in the humanoid form Natori had encountered back at the Omibashira mansion.  “I’ve got some foolish meddler to hunt down and a bunch of other shit to do, so the least you can do is watch the brat in the meantime!”

“…Are you leaving?” asked the aforementioned ‘brat’, his voice so quiet and uncertain that it made the youkai pause and turn back.

“Don’t worry, Natsume,” said the youkai, patting him somewhat roughly on the head. “That guy sparkles a lot, but I guarantee you that he’s fully human. Besides, it’s only for now. I’ll come pick you up as soon as I’ve dealt with the fool responsible for all this. This is for your own safety, so don’t go wandering about alone, got it?”

Natsume still shot a decidedly uncertain look Natori’s way.

**-o0o-**

This was not in any way how Natori had planned on spending his afternoon; he could have been elsewhere, doing literally anything else. However, he was actually pretty damned glad that he had simply stayed at home and taken a nap, because he barely dared thinking about where Natsume might have ended up otherwise.

“ _Sensei_ said that he couldn’t leave me with ‘those guys’, because they wouldn’t return me afterwards,” Natsume said quietly where he sat on Natori’s couch, holding a cup of tea; he was already small, and the oversized clothes and curled-up posture made him look even smaller. “He also said that he couldn’t take me home, because the people I stay with don’t know about… stuff…”

Really. “To my understanding, the Fujiwaras are very kind,” Natori said. “However, they are also old, and the shock of seeing you like this might just−”

“I don’t want to trouble anyone,” Natsume said, putting the tea back down.

“I’m not troubled−” Except he really _was_ , technically speaking. “−Besides, I already offered to take you in a while back, so…”

Natsume frowned at that. “Why can’t I remember?” he asked. “Everything is so fuzzy…”

Well− “I don’t think it’s particularly strange, considering how many years you’ve lost,” Natori said. “Still, _Tsukihigui_ , you said?”

“Days Eater,” Natsume quietly repeated. “I wonder what I did to make him so mad at me…”

Mad? “I doubt the Days Eater is mad at you, really,” Natori said. “You probably did it a favour, and it made you younger as thanks…”

Because knowing Natsume, that was really the only likely explanation. Never mind the fact that Natsume had apparently managed to stumble upon a very much sought-after legendary youkai; since the whole deal with Natsume getting dragged into impersonating a god at the Moon-Splitting Festival, Natori knew better than to be surprised.

That said however, Natsume’s current appearance was indeed startling. Also, how long would he remain like this? Natori wanted to ask, but hesitated on how to phrase the question. It seemed rather insensitive to ask, and with Natsume being this way, it was unlikely that Natori would get any decent answers anyway.

Granted, with any luck, then the matter would be resolved before morning. However, if the youkai responsible proved elusive or if Natsume’s makeshift guardian proved unreliable, then−

Natori checked the fridge. There was nothing. Nothing suitable at any rate.

Next, Natori checked the freezer. It was not completely empty, but did not contain a lot of useful things either.

With a sigh, Natori shut the door and considered his options; delivery or going shopping. The former sounded decidedly agreeable, because Natori would rather not leave Natsume on his own, or even under the care of his shiki, because while he trusted them to watch his back, he would rather not cause Natsume any undue distress. Besides, if this whole thing lasted longer than a day, then…

**-o0o-**

“So, found anything you’d like to order yet?”

Natsume looked up from the menu. “Why do you sparkle so much?” he finally asked.

“I can’t help the fact that I’m very charming,” Natori said, taking no slight amount of joy in how Natsume just snorted and went back to studying the menu; the boy was less cautious now, and in addition to that Natori had learnt many new things.

It was weird, sure, but also rather fascinating and entertaining to deal with this temporary child. Said child now had brand new clothes, including a new pair of shoes, a new pair of jeans and a new T-shirt. The hoodie was the same, a big light-green thing, but Natori hadn’t insisted upon getting a new one. There was also a new pair of studded bracelets that clashed horribly with Natori’s previous impression of Natsume’s stylistic preferences. Because, out of all the things Natori would have guessed to be Natsume’s style, street punk definitely wasn’t among them.

Once this affair had been safely resolved, Natori made a mental note of getting Natsume an entire outfit in said style at a later date.

Sure, Natsume had been very reluctant initially; he likely wasn’t very used to anyone buying him things. Still, Natori could be fairly persuasive, and now that he had managed it once, he would probably manage it again.

“So? Found anything yet?”

**-o0o-**

The matter was not resolved in the morning, so Natori checked his calendar. Thankfully, he had nothing scheduled; nothing so important that it couldn’t be rescheduled at least.

As such, Natori brought Natsume out to the park along with Hiiragi, who Natsume seemed to have bonded with in spite of his current state. Granted, it was likely because Hiiragi indulged him, whereas Sasago and Urihime remained fairly standoffish, despite Natsume’s cautious attempts to engage them in conversation.

The latter was no huge issue however, so Natori let it be. Instead, there were other things at hand to consider. After all, what was there even to do at the park? Talking or playing seemed like a no-brainer, but what was there to talk about and as for playing games, what were the options?

Natori quietly cursed the fact that he was an only child, and that he hadn’t bothered spending much time with his peers back in school, something which left him with few friends and none that were really his age. Matoba obviously didn’t count, because Matoba was at best a strong but volatile ally, at worst a troublesome enemy, and for the most part, a nuisance.

Natori barely dared to think about what would have happened if there had been a run-in in-between Matoba and the current Natsume; the teenage Natsume’s encounters with Matoba were already bad enough.

As such, it went without saying that Natori hadn’t breathed a word of Natsume’s situation to anyone in the circuit; he had not even made any general inquiries about rumoured sightings of legendary youkai, because that kind of behaviour raised suspicions. Instead, Natori had just let Aimiya know that he was busy and wouldn’t be accepting any exorcist jobs for the time being.

Because Natsume obviously took priority, especially now.

“That tree over there…” Natsume began.

“Hm? What is it?” Natori asked, looking towards it.

“It looks like a tree in a town I used to live before,” Natsume said.

“Oh?” Natori said, genuinely interested.

“I always passed it on the way to and from school, and there was always this youkai in it…” Natsume said.

Oh. “Well,” Natori said. “It’s not that tree over there, so don’t worry about it.”

“No, it wasn’t like that,” Natsume protested, looking at him now. “She wasn’t really trying to hurt me; she was probably just lonely like me, but I got scared and I punched her, so… then she got mad and started showing up everywhere to scare me, but then, then I yelled at her and she went away…”

The youkai had probably been annoyed and felt mischievous rather than mad; this was the case with many youkai when they encountered someone that could see them. Granted, few decided to mess with exorcists, but who would go out of their way to bully someone who _could_ end them and oftentimes _would_ , given motive and opportunity?

“I want to apologise,” Natsume said, looking down at his knees. “But I−”

“You already did that, you know?” a voice said, and Natori almost had a heart attack, because he had most definitely not noticed the newest arrival.

Hiiragi most definitely had though, and Natori would have to have words with her about her not warning him. Sure, Natsume’s makeshift bodyguard was not normally to be considered a threat, but still. Experiencing one too many shocks would probably be bad for Natori’s heart after all.

 _“What are you doing here?!”_ Natori hissed. “What happened to hunting down the Days Eater?! And what’s up with you wearing that form again?!”

“You fool,” said _Sensei_ , flopping down on the bench next to Natsume and put a hand on top of his head. “Should I have come here as him instead?”

Natori was about to question the need to come in the shape of a human at all, but Natsume beat him to it.

“Because I called you a _tanuki_ monster…”

Oh.

Natori snorted, because wasn’t that rich? It was definitely worth having to avoid getting swatted. _“He called you a tanuki monster!”_

“Shut up, you damned brat!” Sensei barked. “Have some respect for your elders!”

_“A tanuki monster!”_

“You fool! I’m not a _tanuki_! I’m Nyanko- _sensei_!”

“But you transform?” Natori said. “What are you then? A _fox_? Also, with that kind of name−”

“Who’s a damned fox, you damned fool!?” _Sensei_ hissed. “If you’ve got complaints about my name, you should ask him!”

Natsume blinked and reached up to touch the hand still pressing against his hair. “I named you?”

“Did you really think that someone as noble as me would call myself _Nyanko-sensei_ otherwise?” the youkai scoffed, retrieving the hand at last.

Coming to think of it… ‘Nyanko-sensei’ really wasn’t something that such a youkai would call itself. The name was too demeaning for that, and yet− The act of naming someone was still important, and ‘Nyanko-sensei’ using the name Natsume had bestowed upon him showed that the youkai had accepted it.

That aside though− “Why are you here? Why aren’t you out looking for the Days Eater?”

“Who says I’m not out looking?!” the youkai scoffed. “Besides, someone’s got to deal with the situation back there.”

Situation?

“But thanks to that Tanuma brat, I can finally deal with this mess.”

Oh. Natori had been too consumed by everything else to properly consider what could possibly unfold over in Yatsuhara. “The Fujiwaras?”

“Not a problem,” said the youkai. “As for school… well, taking naps isn’t that hard.”

Oh goodie. If Natori had only thought about this matter earlier, then he could’ve made arrangements with the Fujiwaras and made up a story about taking Natsume for an extended trip. But hindsight is twenty-twenty and whatnot.

“Have you found any trace of the Days Eater?” Natori asked instead, resigned to let the matter be for now. “Also, why are you here again?”

“Can’t I come here to see my brat, fool?” the youkai asked, giving Natsume’s hair another ruffle. “Also, I came to laugh at your expense.”

Naturally.

“Well, you’ve seen Natsume, you’ve laughed at my expense,” Natori said. “Mind doing your damned job?”

This earned him a smirk.

“Well, now that I’ve seen you’re taking proper care of him, I guess I better get going,” the youkai said, standing up. “Cheers.”

**-o0o-**

In hindsight, Natori really ought to have considered a lot of things, including but by no means limited to not having such a discussion out in such a public location as a park.

Because carelessness brought consequences, and one of said consequences was staring Natori right in the face right at this very moment.

And it wasn’t even a professional paparazzi that had snapped such a seemingly compromising photo, oh no. Instead, it was some unknown high schooler playing hooky that had managed to snap it from a bit of a distance. The quality was still pretty good though; good enough cause quite an uproar.

“Honestly…” Natori sighed, cradling his aching head. “People sure have lively imagination…”

People, and those writing in the tabloids in particular. Not that the exorcist side was much better.

“Well, that’s one way of securing a successor,” had been Aimiya’s comment on the issue, and he retained said opinion even after Natori had vehemently denied fathering a secret lovechild while still in his teens.

Even Nanase had contacted him to express her and the Matoba clan’s sincere congratulations.

On top of that, even the main household of the Natori clan called about the issue.

Naturally, Natori had denied it all and managed to straighten up most of the misunderstandings, pushing a story that lay fairly close to the actual truth; that he was temporarily taking care of the child of an acquaintance, and that he and the child were not in any way related.

And everyone was like, yeah, _sure_.

**-o0o-**

Thankfully, the matter was resolved around when Natori would have to start worrying about impromptu visits.

One afternoon, Natori entered the living room to find Hiiragi sitting on the couch next to a normal-sized sleeping Natsume; the latter was covered in a blanket that most definitely hadn’t been there before.

“Well, that’s a relief,” Natori sighed. “I guess that bodyguard of his will be along soon then.”

“That useless thing doesn’t deserve such titles,” Hiiragi said derisively, and Sasago and Urihime voiced their separate agreements.

“I guess not,” Natori said.

**-o0o-**

It felt kind of anticlimactic in the end, really.

And while Natori had never been overly fond of children, he was willing to admit to himself that he would probably miss the younger version of Natsume. Of course, that was not to say that he was not relieved about having the teenaged version and all, but still.

“I can pay for my own food, you know?” Natsume said, as they met up again a couple of weeks along the line.

Natori smiled. “I’m the one who invited you, so it’s only fair that I get to pay, don’t you think?” he said.

Also, Natori was a movie star and an exorcist, and earned a fair amount from both of his jobs, which he could now do, even if it meant dealing with questions about that kid that most definitely wasn’t his.

Natsume must have heard of it too, because he had apologised, as if he was somehow at fault, even though the problem lay with other people’s nosiness and feelings of entitlement to know intimate details about Natori’s private life.

And speaking of Natori’s private life− _“Hiiragi,”_ he quietly said, eyeing the teenager aiming a cell phone camera in their general direction.

_“On it.”_

**-o0o-**

A couple of weeks down the line, the tabloids had a new topic to discuss, and Natori had procured a new disguise, because the old one apparently didn’t cut it anymore.

The topic being?

Well, him giving instructions to Hiiragi, Sasago and Urihime to sabotage any impromptu paparazzi had apparently given people the impression that he was secretly cursed.

When asked, he would laugh and say, quite truthfully, that there had been no complaints about technological issues at work.

Naturally, Aimiya and others who eventually got to witness one of his shiki, usually Hiiragi, sabotage his would-be paparazzi, questioned why he would instruct the shiki to do that.

And what was there to say, really?

“It keeps them on their toes, boosts my popularity and keeps me from having to sue for libel. Now shall we?”

**-o0o-**


End file.
